News
Detailed assessments to form relief strategy
How much damage did the July-August floods really do? That will be the focus of a Recovery Coordination Work Committee meeting on 7 September, which will examine new detailed impact reports for each state and region. U Soe Aung, first permanent secretary at the Ministry of ...
Myanmar: Recovery work begins to support flood-affected communities
One month after cyclone Komen and heavy seasonal rains caused floods and landslides in Myanmar, recovery work has started. The ICRC and Myanmar Red Cross Society (MRCS) are distributing food and essential items to 60,000 people in Rakhine, where the ICRC already has a strong operational ...
Laos' ASEAN presidency to help Russia boost Russia-Asian ties- Putin
Laos’ upcoming presidency of the ASEAN could help Russia enhance trade and economic ties with Asia, Sputnik news cited Russian President Vladimir Putin as saying. Keep reading ...
Mass infection in pigs sparks fears
A new breakout of Porcine Reproductive and Respiratory Syndrome (PRRS) has taken the lives of more than 1,200 pigs while infecting some 3,200 more in three districts across Siem Reap since mid-August, a new report by the province’s Agriculture Department says. Officials, meanwhile, are attempting to ...
Christians arrested on charges of proselytizing
Two Christians were arrested by the police in the province of Khammouan, in the east of Laos, on charges of alleged proselytizing. The police broke into the house of a Christian in the village of Nong-hang, and arrested Bountheung Phetsomphone, 43, a Christian leader from another ...
Thailand constitution: Military's council rejects draft
A council appointed by Thailand’s military rulers has rejected a controversial new constitution drafted after last year’s coup. A new committee must now be appointed to write another draft, further setting back elections. The draft has been widely criticised, in particular a clause which enables a 23-member ...
UK academic held at Thai airport
A UK academic has spent the last four days in detention at an airport in Thailand over a dispute arising from a UN report he wrote nine years ago. Agricultural consultant Wyn Ellis was stopped at Bangkok Suvarnabhumi Airport and told he had been reported as ...
HCMC plans 3 reservoirs to reduce flooding
The Ho Chi Minh City government plans to invest VND950 billion (US$42.3 million) on building three reservoirs to store rainwater in the next five years in a bid to reduce flooding in the city. Keep reading ...
Thailand apologises to Laos over football final drama
A group of Thai supporters arrested in Laos for causing disturbance during Thailand’s football match against Vietnam were released on 5 September after spending a night in detention. The Thai Embassy in the Lao capital issued an official statement to apologise for their act, which threatened to affect ...
Green light for Mekong ‘time bomb’ sparks alarm
Environmental groups have expressed alarm at the Laotian National Assembly’s approval of the concession for the Don Sahong Dam project, which has been described as an “ecological time bomb” about to be dropped on the Mekong River. The Laotian government and the project’s developer, Malaysia’s MegaFirst ...
